The Muggle Slytherin and Sirius Black
by Katimeana
Summary: Third installment of my Katimeana adventures following Harry's 3rd year.
1. Chapter 1

I read the most horrifying thing in the paper today. There was a break out from Azkaban. (That's what the wizards call their prison.) I thought that was supposed to be impossible. What's even worse is that the person that escaped is a murderer that is said to have killed 13 people with one curse. One curse! Can you believe it? A definite follower of the Dark Lord himself. Sirius Black. I shudder at the name. No doubt he's after muggle-borns like me. Twelve of the people he killed were muggles. He blasted away half the street - in broad daylight! He's not a very smart criminal, that's for sure. Any normal person would know you're bound to get caught if you kill people outside during the day. And all the bumbling idiot did was laugh! Stood there and laughed, right after he'd killed all those people.

The ministry was astounded by the breakout, and are "trying everything they can to recapture Black." What if that's not good enough? What if he reunites with his old pal Voldie and goes on a killing spree? What if Harry was telling the truth, that You-Know-Who is still alive, and still just as blood thirsty as ever before?

I've been at the Smith's all summer, of course, but school is coming up fast. I have missed it dearly. My first year at Hogwarts, I would have done anything to get out, to get away from it all, but now... now that I have Ron... I never want it to go away. The breaks are all too long and the school days aren't long enough. I have been counting down the days until the start of school, until I get to see Ron again. I just can't wait for school! Wow, I sound like such a nerd. But, seriously, last year, after we got off the train and said our goodbyes, Ron told me he loved me! It's all I could think about the entire summer. (Which, I might add, drove John completely insane.) Poor Johnnie has been heartbroken all summer. He tried to avoid me as much as possible. I never meant to hurt John. Really, I didn't. It's just that... well, could you imagine? Me, as a wife? Me settling down and having kids of my own? I'm still a kid myself! I never wanted to break his heart. Really, I didn't, but marriage just isn't for me. Maybe sometime, in the very, _**very,**_ distant future... but certainly not anytime soon.

Finally the day came when the Smiths dropped me off at the train station, and I could at last rejoin my friends that I had missed so very badly over break. Belle, my bestest friend in the whole wide world, didn't want to let me go. We had become like sisters over the summer, and she almost cried as she held me tight in a goodbye bear hug. Jake gave me a friendly hug, and then I was off. I stepped onto the platform and saw Harry talking to a man that had to be Ron's father. Steam started blowing from the train. _Oh, Belle, why must you be so emotional? Now I'm going to be late! _I quicken my steps, and walk as fast as I can while carrying my heavy trunk._ Please don't leave without me... Please don't leave without me..._"Arthur, quickly!" yelled a woman by the train that I assume is Mrs. Weasley.

"Kat!" says Ron, throwing open a compartment door. "Hurry up, come on, in here." The train started to move. With Ron's help, I jumped in, quickly followed by Harry.

"I need to talk to you." said Harry to Ron and Hermione. He looked at me. "In private."

I took the hint. _Where to go? Where to go? Ahh! First years! Perfect._ I was reading my Spell Wars book that Belle had given me, when the train started to slow down, and eventually stop. I checked my cell phone. It was way too early to be at Hogwarts. All of a sudden everything went dark.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" I heard a first year complain.

The light seemed to take all the heat in the room away with it. I heard the compartment door open. "Who's there?" I ask. There was no answer, just the sound of a long rattling breath. A breath that was trying to suck the life out of everyone, and it seemed to be working quite well. The cold became unbearable. It was inside my very being... deep into my bones. Then I heard something. It was a woman, and she was crying. Then a man's voice, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. There was fog all around me. As the sounds became clearer, so did the picture. I was in a beautiful old-fashioned house, with high ceilings and gorgeous furniture.

"Take her, Kurt!" the woman sobbed, "Get as far away from here as possible!"

"Mom?" I asked, trying to run to her, and finding that I couldn't move. I was forced to watch the scene going on before me, helpless. There she was, my mother. So young, so beautiful. I had almost forgotten what she looked like. I only ever saw her in the picture on my dresser. Her hair was long, and reddish-brown, and full of alluring curls. Her soft brown eyes shone with tears as she looked over at my father. I saw my father pick me up and carry me away. "Mommy!" I cried, stretching out my tiny arm towards her. The big double doors of the mansion burst open, and a hooded figure stood in the doorway. In a flash of green light, my mother was dead on the floor. "NOO!" I screamed, the fog returning.

"What? What is it?" asked a scared first year.

"Huh? Um, nothing." I was back in the dark on the train. I sat in silence pondering what had just happened. This was just making everything worse, so I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried not to think about it. The cold had finally gone away, but the lights were still out.

"Does this happen every year?" asked another first year.

"No, you guys just got lucky." I said. When the lights finally came back on, I realized I was sitting on the floor. I chuckled nervously and got back into my seat. A while later, the door opened again. I jumped, dreading the thought of going through my mother's death again. Thankfully, it was only Ron. I smiled. "Ron!" He hugged me.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." he said, looking me over.

"I'm fine." I say. "What were those things?"

"Dementors. Guards of the wizard prison." He said, taking my hand and leading me out the door.

"They're absolutely frightful!" I say.

"I know. When they came in... I had this feeling... a fear that I'd never see you again... never smile, or laugh, or anything."

"I... I saw..."

"What?"

"Nothing." How could I tell him I saw my mother die? Was I going insane? Was that the start of my life flashing before my eyes? And why was I on the floor? What was going on???


	2. Chapter 2

Finally, we were back at Hogwarts. "You fainted, Potter?" Malfoy's voice greeted us as we got out of the carriages. Fainted? Harry Potter? I tried not to smile. I may have fallen out of my seat, but at least I didn't faint. (Well, at least, I don't think I did. I mean, if I had fainted, then I would have been laying on the floor, right?)

"Shove off, Malfoy." said Ron.

"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" I glared at him. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you, too, Weasley?" I was about to tell him off when the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher stepped in.

"Is there a problem?" He asked. Malfoy looked the man over, taking in his shabby clothes and old suitcase. Ron had said his name was Lupin.

"Oh, no, er, _Professor_." replied Malfoy in mock politeness. We had just gotten into the Great Hall when Harry and Hermione were called away by Professor McGonagal. Reluctantly, as always, I went over to the Slytherin table, and Ron sat with his fellow Slytherins. I really with there wasn't all this nonsense about houses at this school. I want so badly to sit with Ron, but no one would ever allow it. Can you imagine the chaos that would be unleashed if a Slytherin went over and sat down at the Gryffendor table? The Ravenclaws must always sit with the Ravenclaws. The Hufflepuffs must always sit with the Hufflepuffs. The stupid slimy stinkin Slytherins must sit with the nasty evil ugly Slytherins. I often wonder what is was about me that made that ignoramus hat put me in this beastly house in the first place. Isn't Slytherin supposed to be the house where all the bad witches and wizards go? I'm not a bad person... am I? I care about others. I love my friends, now that I actually have some. I don't care for some people, like that intolerable Draco Malfoy, or our dear celebrity Harry Potter, but that's not enough to call me a bad witch, is it? Sure, I might have some anger issues, I did punch Malfoy in the face, but he totally had that coming. If you are going to be a professional twit, you're bound to get knocked out a couple of times for it. (Not to mention that I hate the color green, my favorite color is actually red, lucky Gryffendors.) I mean, Slytherin was the house of the Dark Lord himself. I've never done anything _that_ bad. Maybe it's my destiny to grow up and become some seriously evil dark witch, and maybe the hat knew that. But I'm not really the type of person to believe in destinies. I think it's _your_ decisions that decide _your_ future. That is why I just love to live in the moment and not care what anyone thinks about it. I am who I am, and there is nothing anyone can say or do to change that. I am different, I know that. I just wish that everyone could accept me the way that I have learned to accept myself. I want peace between the houses. Is that too much to ask? What is so wrong about being different anyway?

Things sure have changed since my first year here. Then, I wanted nothing but to get out. I was so young, so lost, so scared. I didn't understand anything about the different houses or why everyone hated me. I quickly learned that I was an outcast, that there wasn't another soul in this school that didn't care about houses. At one point, I was actually on the verge of killing myself, just to make it all stop, and then I met Ron. Only in his first year, but caring, and not to mention cute!

"Our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." Dumbledore was saying. Hearing the word "dementors" brought me out of my trance and back to the present. Did he say they were here? Those freaky things from the train? Here? Why? I do not want to see my mother die everyday! "While they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission." I swear he was looking right at me. Why would they bring such horrible creatures into Hogwarts? Wasn't it already bad enough to be tortured by all the other Slytherins on a daily basis without having to go aroung trying not to re-live my mother's death?

Dumbledore announced that there were two new teachers this year. Professor Lupin was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, of course, but Hagrid was taking the place of Mr. Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher. I should've known better when the book I bought tried to bite me.


	3. Chapter 3

I am in a beautiful house, with high ceilings and chandeliers in every room. Ron comes running towards me with our baby girl in his arms. "Take her, Kat!" He says, "Get as far away from here as possible!" I turn, but do not want to leave him. The door to the house bursts open. A dark hooded figure stands in the doorway, and raises it's wand at Ron.

"Daddy!" cries our daughter, reaching our her tiny hand as I take her away. With a jet of green light, Ron is dead.

"NOO!" I cry.

I sit bolt upright in my bed, breathing heavily. Thank God it was only a dream! It had all seemed so real... and it was just like how my mother died. Was this some kind of sign? I sighed. It's probably all those stupid dementors fault. I hope dreams like that don't become a regular thing. I don't think I could bare to see my dear Ron die every night! I look at my cellphone. It's 3 AM. I better try to get some sleep before classes tomorrow - or, today, I guess.

I decided that I'd take a shot at Divination this year, even though most students start it in their third year. So, right after Transformation, I head straight for the North Tower. Divination seems like a pretty interesting thing to study. I mean, who wouldn't want to know the future? Maybe after class I can ask the teacher about the dream I had last night. I climbed the tightly spiraling steps, all the way to the top of the tower, expecting to find a door or something indicating where to go to get to Divination. I stared around the small landing, wondering what to do. Then suddenly a trapdoor on the ceiling, opened right above my head, and a silvery ladder came down and whacked me smack dab in the middle of my face. "Ow!" I cried, rubbing my nose. _I guess this is the way up_, I thought, and started to climb. At the top I found a rather odd looking room, filled with small circular tables and chintz armchairs. It wasn't very well lit, and it was extremely hot. The curtains on the windows were all closed, and there was a fire on one side of the room, under a very crowded mantelpiece, that was heating up a large copper kettle. All the light in the room was coming from lamps that were covered with dark red scarves. The room seemed deserted, and I almost turned back, thinking I was probably in someone's old attic instead of a classroom. Maybe I wasn't supposed to climb the ladder.

"Welcome, my child. How wonderful it is to finally see you in the physical world. Sit down, dear. Yes, you are in the right place. I don't get many fourth years that want to start Divination, so it's just you and me this year."

The voice startled me, and I almost fell down the trapdoor. I stepped away from it and carefully sat down in one of the armchairs. I looked around, trying to place where the voice had come from.

"Katimeana-Nicole, my dear, do not be afraid." the voice said again, but this time it seemed much closer, I turned my head to look behind me, and nearly jumped out of my seat. A pair of huge eyes were staring straight at me, way to enormous to be human eyes. On my second glance, I realized that the eyes belonged to a tall and boney lady, with wild hair, and thick glasses. So that's why her eyes look so huge. The woman was wearing a shawl, with numerous chains and beads around her neck. "Welcome to Divination, darling." she said, walking around the desk so that she was now standing in front of me. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You do not recognize me because I find that going down into the main school with all the hustle and bustle going on clouds my Inner Eye." I stared at her as she paused, not knowing if I should say anything. What is there to say? Professor Trelawney cleared her throat and continued, "Divination is the most difficult of all magical arts. If you do not have the Sight, there is very little that I can do for you. Books and such can only take you so far, you know. There have been many a talented witch or wizard who have not been able to unveil a thing about the future, although, I do perceive a rather large aura around you. Extraordinary receptivity to the resonances of the future. Having the Sight is a gift granted to few. Do you know if your mother is well?"

"My mother is dead." I said uncertainly, wondering why she was asking about my mother.

"Of course, of course." she said. "Now we will only be covering the basics this year. First, we shall look at tea leaves, and then we will proceed to palmistry. Next is fire omens, and eventually the crystal ball. Now, dear, I usually have students work in pairs, but since it's just you and me, I will be your partner." She walked over to one of the many shelves that were full of teacups, and brought back two pink patterned cups. Then she went to her desk and brought back a large teapot. She poured herself a cup, and then one for me. What was she doing? We were supposed to be having class here, not a tea party. "Drink up, child. Drink all that down until only the dregs are left. Then you will swill those around the cup three times with the left hand, turn the cup upside down on its saucer, and wait for the

last of the tea to drain away. After all that is done, we will trade cups and decipher the patterns. Oh, I almost forgot, you will want to look on pages five and six in your copy of Unfogging The Future to help you interpret the markings. I wrinkled my nose at the tea. I hate tea. I smiled weakly at the professor and gulped down the bitter tea as quickly as possible, and then swilled the dregs just as she had said. She did the same, and handed me her cup. It looked like just a bunch of leftover tea deposits if you asked me, but I consulted the book anyway. I was just about to say that she had an oak, which meant she was going to live a long happy life, and that somehow that tied in with the cat, which meant deceit, when the professor interrupted. "Oh, dear." she said, staring sadly at my cup, "The skull... danger in your path.... The falcon... a deadly enemy... A dish... trouble at home... Not a very happy cup, my dear, oh but there is a harp, which means love and harmony..." I smiled as I thought of Ron. I'd have to tell him later that he showed up in my tea cup. That should give him a good laugh. "My child, I would be exceedingly careful if I were you." She was turning the teacup in her hand as she examined it. "You seem to have many grim things to look forward to in your young life. I will do all I can to guide you on your way, but-" she dropped the teacup to the table, and let out a gasp, as if she'd just been burned. She looked terrified.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked, starting to get a little worried myself.

"It's ... the Grim!"

"The Grim?" I asked, looking through my book to see what that meant.

"The Grim, my child, is the worst omen you can get. It is the omen of death!"

Well, of course, everyone's gotta die someday, but I've got this sinking feeling that that isn't what she meant. I glanced at my cup. What she called "the Grim" looked much more like an elephant to me, and that meant wisdom and strength. I was starting to wonder if Professor Trelawney even had "the Sight" herself.

"My dear, sweet child, time is short. That's all for today. You may go."

I gathered my things and headed for the trapdoor. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. What a wonderful start to my fourth year. There's happiness-sucking monsters running around the school, I'm having nightmares about death, and I was just told I was going to die. Die of boredom in Mr. Binns class, probably. History of Magic was next on the list, then Care of Magical creatures. I wonder what new adventures will come out of my Care of Magical Creatures class? That oaf Hagrid will probably bring out something dangerous and it'll kill me. Right there on school grounds. That's how I'll die-by going to class. Future students will use that excuse forever. I can see it now: "I'm sorry, Professor, I can't come to class today because I might die." I just hope I can make it to lunch to tell Ron about my teacup.


End file.
